Apple Releases Standalone Podcasts App

Apple released its own podcast managing app, Podcasts, on Tuesday.

Apple quietly introduced its own Podcasts app on Tuesday morning. Simply titled “Podcasts,” the new app for iOS touts itself as the “easiest way to discover, subscribe to and play your favorite podcasts.”

Podcasts is super simple. The app opens up to a library of podcasts you’ve subscribed to. If you haven’t subscribed to any, or have a few in mind, you click on Catalog in the upper left-hand corner to find some new ones. There, you can browse by Featured or Top Charts titles, or search for something specific — we recommend the Gadget Lab Podcast, if you don’t subscribe already.

You can also browse podcast stations based on subject. Toward the top of the screen sits an analog-style rotating dial, which lets you scan through general genre topics like Business, Comedy and Education, as well as sub categories — dive into the Business section to find topics like Careers and Investing, for example. Episodes can be downloaded for offline listening, or streamed, if you prefer.

When you’re playing a podcast, you see an animated reel-to-reel tape deck up top, and tape-player-inspired control buttons across the bottom. A sharing button and sleep timer button are conveniently placed toward the middle of the screen, while an AirPlay button is situated next to a volume slider at the very bottom of the interface.

Podcasts are a major draw for many iOS users. Stitcher is one title making waves in the space for being the Pandora of talk radio — using your likes and dislikes, plays, and favorite topics to recommend shows you’d enjoy listening to. SoundCloud is also a popular choice for listening to podcasts, and was recently integrated into Flipboard, the socially curated magazine app.

Feature-wise, Apple’s standalone podcast player is very simple compared to the above examples, which is great if you just want to listen to a handful of trusted programs and that’s about it.

The app, designed for iPhone, iPad and iPod touch, is available now as a free download in the App Store.